March 2012 Board Press Highlights Dillon, HughE, “GPTMC’s Philly 360 Party” The Philly Post (Philadelphia Magazine), 2/20/2012 Sokil, Dan “Lansdale gets creative” The Reporter, 2/11/2012 Editor, “PA Budget: Starving Artists Will Continue to Starve, Per Usual” Philebrity, 2/9/2012 Walter, Eric “Will the arts suffer under new Corbett budget?” Newsworks, 2/8/2012 Sokil, Dan, “Lansdale 311 West Main task force still seeking consultant” Montgomery-Lansdale Patch, 2/7/12 Baily, Pamela, “Strength in Numbers” Arts Professional (UK), 2/6/12 Editor, “Meetings scheduled for Glenside mural art project” Montgomery Media, 2/6/2012 Royal, Margie, “Delco arts organizations unite (video)” Delaware County News Network, 2/6/2012 Kaiden, Tom, “Letters: Philadelphia council member Jannie L. Blackwell says editorial misrepresents her over Mural Arts Program” Philadelphia Daily News, 1/23/2012 Jones, Ayana, “Philadelphia launches arts marketing blitz” The Philadelphia Tribune, 1/13/12 Gooding, Anita, “Coping with post-holiday financial stress” Philadelphia Gay News, 1/12/2012 Van Allen, Peter, “Phila., its cultural organizations to fund Barnes marketing campaign” Philadelphia Business Journal, 1/12/2012 Editor, “People in the News” Legal Intelligencer, 1/4/2012 Smith, J, “Latino Pioneers Mural: La Historia of a Community’s Leaders” El Hispano, 12/27/2011 Bingaman, Brian, “Budget cuts overshadow parks, arts” Times Herald, 12/18/2011 Bingaman, Brian, “What happens to the parks and trails?” The Reporter, 12/17/2011
http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2012/02/20/hughe-dillon-gptmcs-black-historymonth-party/
HughE Dillon: GPTMC’s Philly 360 Party | 2012’s Creative Ambassadors are named at annual event. HughE Dillon February 20, 2012
Last week the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation held its annual Black History Month Philly 360° cocktail party at Tendenza in Northern Liberties, where they introduced the 2012 Creative Ambassadors. […] Below: Tyrone Hampton, Jr. and Philly 360 Insider James Claiborne, community engagement manager at Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. A “Philly Insider” is a local expert on what makes Philly so attractive.
http://www.philebrity.com/2012/02/09/pa-budget-starving-artists-will-continue-to-starve-per-usual/
PA Budget: Starving Artists Will Continue to Starve, Per Usual Editor February 9, 2012
In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Corbett adopts a JOBS First attitude, boasting that in the past year, “Our private sector workforce grew by 79,000 jobs.” Here, we examine the breakdown of PA’s 2012-2013 budget, looking specifically at how strategic cuts might impact PA’s $2 billion-generating arts community. In (reverse) order of severity: >>>NO CHANGE: Funding for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance notes, “has been maintained at $9.065 million, $8.179 of which is allocated to community arts grants.” The Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission‘s museum assistance grants stay at level zero for the third year in a row. >>>SLIGHT CUT: PHMC’s overall funding dropped 3.6&% with state historic preservation taking the biggest hit at 5%. >>>ELIMINATED: Funding for the state’s four zoos has been cut completely, down to zero from $450,000 last year. >>>DOWN THE MEMORY HOLE: “The once zeroed out line reserved for public television has been removed from the budget document altogether.” Overall, these drawbacks aren’t that bad. On the downside, the state budget for marketing to attract tourists has dropped nearly a million dollars, at 24.8%. This year — of all years — the art really will have to speak for itself. But don’t sweat it: Attendance at supported events (from the Development of Artists and Audiences program) is predicted to rise by an additional 10,000 visitors over last year’s increase. There’s the hypothetical vote of confidence we were waiting for. In other news: >>>EMPLOYMENT: Job training programs have been replaced by Keystone Works, a $2.5 million dollar program which “will provide employer-driven training opportunities for
unemployed workers,” along with JOBSFirst PA, a tax reform/incentive to help businesses enter hiring mode. >>>HUMAN SERVICES: With the institution of the Human Services Development Fund (which “increased” by 4,404.5%), a “block grant” that leaves allocation of resources up to counties, homeless assistance and behavioral health services have been eliminated from the itemized budget, with mental health services taking a 76.7% cut. >>>EDUCATION: State universities across the board, with the notable exception of Lincoln University, are seeing budget cuts in the area of 30%. If you ignore the obstacles to, you know, learning, our creative types are doing just fine
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/speak-easy-archive/item/33742-will-the-arts-suffer-too-much-undernew-corbett-budget
Will the arts suffer under new Corbett budget? Eric Walter February 8, 2012
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday outlined his administration's budget priorities for the coming year. The 2012-13 budget would be, in his words, "lean and demanding," and he has pledged to raise no taxes. Zoos and public broadcasting are hurt, and other arts and culture organizations either hold steady or see only modest cuts. The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance reacted to the proposal, saying it has mixed results for the arts community. Some highlights: Funding for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts holds steady at about $9 million, about $8 million of which goes to community arts grants. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission would see a reduction of 3.6% to its budget, including a 5% decrease in funding for state historic preservation. The organization's museum assistance grants are eliminated for a third year running. Funding for the state's zoos is eliminated completely, from $450,000 last year. Public television has been removed from consideration altogether. There are arguments to be made about the number of jobs the arts and culture community brings to the region, the amount of tax revenues generated by arts patrons, and the value of community programs created by arts organizations. However, there are also arguments to be made that, in the game of spending priorities the government is struggling with, the governor has little choice.It's too simple to ask "How do you feel about arts cuts?" We all love our zoos and museums and such (don't we?). The arts sector is always vulnerable in times like these. Too vulnerable? Comments: # Cutting Programs that Bring in Tax Dollars — Karim Olaechea 2012-02-09 14:51 Even in tough economic times, it makes no sense to cut funding to programs that help generate jobs and stimulate economic spending and tax revenues. That kind of shortsighted thinking further erodes our tax-base and will only result in future budget short falls.
http://www.thereporteronline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120207/NEWS01/120209847
Lansdale 311 West Main task force still seeking consultant Dan Sokil February 7, 2012
LANSDALE - The list of consultants who would help Lansdale’s 311 West Main Street task force redevelop the vacant borough building is narrowing. And at the same time, the list of potential ways to rehabilitate that building is expanding. The task force’s members saw another set of preliminary plans for the building Tuesday night. “This is not something that’s etched in stone yet. We’re still information gathering, and this is a projection of what could be - at this point, we really don’t know,” said task force chair Mike Sobel. The task force is currently looking to hire a consultant with expertise in developing downtown destinations to guide the process of rehabilitating 311 West Main Street, a former Masonic temple which was operated as the Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts before being closed for financial reasons, safety concerns and building code violations. A steering committee comprised of borough staff and task force members, and led by Parks and Recreation Director Carl Saldutti, has narrowed down the eight firms that responded to a task force request for proposals into a final three which will be interviewed this week and next. “We had a lot of quality respondents this time to the request for proposals, so we are hoping to make a recommendation to the entire at our March meeting,” Saldutti said. That task force meeting is scheduled for March 13 and the task force could suggest borough council approve a contract with that consultant when council meets on March 21. After the RFP update, the task force saw a revised set of proposed plans for the building by architect Scott Malin of Speizle Architects, which incorporated feedback from earlier task force meetings into a new proposal that let the task force save money while bringing the building up to code. A previous set of potential plans showed conceptual designs of how the building could be repaired to fix code violations at an estimated cost of $400,000 or could be built out to include a large second floor theater at an estimated cost of $3.4 million, but Malin’s presentation this week gave the task force a third option to consider.
“If we could find a way to reduce costs or break the project into two stages, then it became very logical to say ‘Maybe the second floor is the piece you don’t do right away,’” Malin said. The newest set of potential plans would turn the building’s basement lobby into an open area where a portable stage could hold shows, while office space behind the lobby could be converted into a green room with private rest rooms for performers to prepare. On the first floor of the building, the current stage that guests enter off of the Madison Parking Lot could be connected to Main Street with expanded green room and rest room space behind, but the proposed retail space on the Main Street side of the building could instead be used as a lobby, rest room and food service space. “You could potentially have two highly used performance spaces within the building: you could seat about 170 on the main floor, and the space below would actually be fairly comparable in size,” Malin said. Those plans would cut out about $1 million from the project’s bottom line by delaying second floor renovations, and could let the building start booking acts and generating revenue before the upper stage is completed, but Malin and several task force members emphasized that the plans were only preliminary and would need plenty of vetting, especially by the professional consultant. Task force member Linsday Schweriner pointed out that the estimated cost figures did not take into account the staff, utility and operating costs of the building, and member Doug Pett said the construction costs could go up or down based on changes as the plans get further developed, but “all we’ve done so far is try to get everyone to open their eyes a little bit further” to potential uses. Member Nancy DeLucia, representing the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, said she was worried that the task force was seeing plans focused only on creating stages and spaces for performing arts, and that having three stages could be one goal, “but you have to be able to fill one theater first.” Sobel and borough Manager Timi Kirchner both noted that funding for the future uses would have to be clearly specified in the business plan produced by the consultant, and council President Matt West said the task force should not “confuse fiscal responsibility with an unwillingness to invest.” “You can be fiscally responsible, and be willing to invest. We’re at that point. Get comfortable with the numbers; it will be a significant investment, if chosen,” he said. Task force member James Collins said that plan would be a key part of any fundraising pitch the task force, and the operators of the building, would make to public and private donors.
“The consultant will laser us down and say ‘This is the direction we need to head into, and these are the things we need to address,’” Collins said. “If they say it will work, we’ll figure out ways to make it work. If not, we’ll figure out the steps we need to take to do what’s best for the borough and the community,” he said. The task force is scheduled to meet next at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13 at Lansdale Borough Hall, located at 1 Vine Street.
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Strength in numbers Scotland has more in common with Philadelphia than we might think. Pamela Bailey shares the fruits of US-style collaboration The need to work smarter, and more creatively, to achieve greater efficiencies with fewer resources is hardly news to the UK’s art and culture sectors. Yet how to achieve this, and demonstrate practical, measurable results from such a seemingly impossible scenario? A few helpful pointers can be drawn from two recent masterclasses entitled ‘The Strength of Numbers’, attended by performing and visual arts teams from all over Scotland.
Arden Theatre Company, Pennsylvania, USA - © PHOTO Leigh Goldenberg Guest speaker at both events was Nick Crosson, Research Analyst with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, which was set up in 1974 by nine of the area’s larger cultural organisations ahead of the USA’s bicentennial celebrations in 1976. The Cultural Alliance realised shrewdly that its best defence lay in collaboration and strength of numbers, and has been phenomenally successful in lobbying collectively on behalf of its 400+ members, drawn from the area’s arts, culture and tourism sectors, and serving a city of approximately 1.5 million and a region of 6.2 million. Membership fees reflect organisations’ annual turnover, starting at $150 for small groups with budgets of $100,000–$200,000, rising to several thousand dollars per year for those in the $1m dollar+ bracket whose larger marketing teams make correspondingly greater use of services including events calendars and shared marketing databases. Notable Cultural Alliance successes include the 2009 campaign which harnessed public support to lobby politicians and prevented the proposed addition of state sales tax to ticket admission prices; fighting off a plan by the state legislature’s to slash arts funding by up to 70%; and the reinstatement of the City of Philadelphia’s long-closed Office of Arts and Culture. As well, up to 15 new programmes have been commissioned for new audiences following the award of ‘Challenge Grants’. Nick Crosson explains: “The cultural community in Philadelphia is a highly co-operative group which freely shares information and expertise, thus it made sense to establish a standalone body for co-ordinated efforts. The two largest
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Arts Professional : the UK's leading Arts Management Magazine
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areas of our common work are advocacy and marketing. Advocacy includes lobbying Government on behalf of the entire sector, and securing new sources of funding from sponsors, foundations and individuals. Our common marketing efforts include gathering common data to include ticket sales, marketing costs and audience figures to argue a robust, factuallysupported collective business case demonstrating the positive economic contribution made by our creative industries. “In the UK, Government tends to gather this type of data whereas in the US it falls to non-governmental organisations like ourselves. Data are entered by members on behalf of their respective organisations into a single system. Working with another organisation, The Cultural Data Project, we can report actual sales figures, combined audience attendances, and compare marketing spend per sale across different groups. We publish figures regularly to allow close scrutiny by any number of interested parties, including politicians who are always keen to see hard facts governing return on investment, particularly for numbers of school groups attending publicly funded museums, galleries and theatres. Since all data entries are anonymous, Cultural Alliance members can also compare their own operating costs with others in the sector.” The Strength of Numbers workshops were the result of a collaboration between the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Culture Sparks in Glasgow and The Audience Business (TAB) in Edinburgh. The Philadelphia experience has resonance in Scotland. Ros Lamont, Chief Executive of TAB commented: “Cultural Alliance’s online ‘Philly Fun Guide’ has become their region’s definitive guide to sports and cultural events, publicising members’ events to a massive audience and partnering with key media outlets. TAB has been working to provide a comprehensive new web portal and online events guide called Clickit.co.uk, which has the potential to do the same in Scotland.” Julie Tait, Director for Culture Sparks, praised the Cultural Alliance’s “impressive reports which help legislators appreciate what is happening in Philadelphia’s cultural sector, including trends such as recent increased attendances resulting in ticket sales rising 5% despite the recession”, and the way it has harnessed data to demonstrate the negative impact which proposed measures, such as the now defunct move to add sales tax to ticket prices, would have had in terms of jobs and revenue lost to the economy. She sees important parallels with Culture Sparks’ work: results will soon be published of a five-year business data-gathering programme in association with The Federation of Scottish Theatre and TAB, which will provide a detailed snapshot of key aspects of Scotland’s arts and cultural sectors. She concluded: “Like the city of Philadelphia with audiences of 1.5 million – Glasgow and Edinburgh’s combined populations touch the one million mark. With such a heavyweight pedigree and so many similarities between our work, it made sound business sense to share a few of the Cultural Alliance’s successful trade secrets with Scotland’s equally vibrant creative industries. The two events seem to have sparked not merely ongoing healthy debate, but also some potential new creative partnerships. There truly is strength in numbers.” Pamela Bailey writes on behalf of Culture Sparks and The Audience Business. E fabbywritergal@gmail.com W www.culturesparks.co.uk W www.theaudiencebusiness.org.uk Sk pamela.bailey222
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http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2012/02/06/glenside_news_globe_times_chronicle/news/doc4f 304455bb895310216015.txt
Meetings scheduled for Glenside mural art project Editor February 06, 2012
The public is invited to provide ideas for a mural art project for the Keswick Avenue Underpass in Glenside Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Glenside Hall, 185 S. Keswick Ave. in Glenside. Muralist Kimberly Mehler will discuss design concepts and present examples of other community murals. Subsequent meetings will be held March 27 and April 23 at the same time and place. Project partners include Cheltenham Township, which secured a $1,650 grant for the mural; Abington Township; SEPTA; and community-based organizations such as the Glenside Chamber of Commerce; the Downtown Glenside Community Partnership; the Cheltenham Economic Development Task Force; and the Cheltenham and Abington environmental advisory councils. This project was supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through its regional arts funding partnership, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts. State government funding for the arts depends upon an annual appropriation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. Additional support of the PPA Partnership in Southeastern Pennsylvania is provided by PECO. For more information on the mural project, contact Cheltenham Township at 215-8876200 ext. 112.
http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/articles/2012/02/06/entertainment/doc4f30021fcf95b331598470.txt
Delco arts organizations unite (video) Margie Royal February 06, 2012
Delaware County is filled with artists and artistic treasures and boasts a diverse mix of culture, history and arts organizations. In 2009, it was decided to form an advocacy group for the arts in Delaware County and, 18 months ago, the Delaware County Arts Consortium (DCAC) was formed. Delaware County Arts Consortium members pose on the stage of the Meagher Theatre at Neumann University with Nancy DeLucia, Director of Community Engagement, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (seated right). Members have been holding planning meetings at each other’s site.
Delaware County Arts organization leaders may have realized that working together might help each other survive in these tough economic times. In 2009, organization leaders began visiting each other’s venues for monthly meetings to share goals, exchange ideas and plan for the future of the Delaware County Arts Consortium (DCAC), the name they have chosen for themselves. Leaders from the following organizations: Brandywine River Museum, Community Arts Center, Darlington Arts Center, Delaware County Symphony, Hedgerow Theatre, International Ballet Classique, Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation, Main Line Art Center, Media Arts Council and Media Theatre are among the founding members of the Consortium.
The group is under the umbrella of the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance that represents more than 231 arts organizations in Philadelphia and the adjacent counties. For the first time all the cultural non-profit organizations in Delaware County are coming together to share information and promote arts advocacy to local county and state government officials. The primary goal is to highlight for Delaware County residents all the creative and cultural activities happening right here in Delco.. The major and secondary non-profit arts organization no longer wish to remain small independent fiefdoms, but are now socially and organizationally fused and nourished by a common vision and goal -- to help the arts flourish in Delaware County. All the members feel that the variety and quality of the arts in Delco is amazing and that it adds a great deal to the quality of life. “The Media Arts Council's mission is to support local artists and integrate a variety of arts into the life of the community. We are part of the Delaware County Arts Consortium for the same reason; we believe that all artists deserve and need support and that the county residents benefit from their efforts. MAC is proud to be part of this dynamic group that represents a cross spectrum of the arts,” said Judy Fowler, Executive Director, MAC. Patrick Ward, Media Theatre’s executive director, added, that the DCAC is “moving toward formalization. We need to define what are the requirements and eligibility standards (for DCAC) and need to work in concert with each other and promote each other.” Rachel Ammon, Main Line Arts Center’s Communication Director, added, ”Anything we can do to promote the arts around us only benefits us all.” Josie Singer, Executive Director of the International Ballet Classique, agreed. “Working together benefits arts groups and enhances skills of the artists,” she said. You may notice an official informational flyer entitled “All Roads Lead to the Arts in Delaware County,” in the lobbies of DCAC arts venues. The flyer shares a few facts about the impact of the arts in Delaware County. According to the flyer: there are more than 30 non-profits arts and cultural organization in Delco that pump $25,925,269 into the local economy. More than 439,178 attendees and 70,801 school children enjoy Delco arts and cultural offerings. These organizations also create 1,450 jobs. More than 4336 different cultural events were produced last year. DCAC is now in the process of planning the next steps of its growth.
At the Feb. 1 meeting in the McNichol Room Life Center building at Neumann University, a topic of discussion was how to go about expanding the Consortium to include other non-profit cultural organizations that make their home in the County. DCAC will make a formal presentation to Delaware County Council members at the Council’s Feb. 14 meeting. For more information on the DCAC, call Deborah A. Krull, Esquire, at 610-627-1010 or e-mail dkrull@dkrulllaw.com.
http://articles.philly.com/2012-01-23/news/30655932_1_philadelphia-mural-arts-program-jane-golden-artattack
Letters: Philadelphia council member Jannie L. Blackwell says editorial misrepresented her over Mural Arts Program January 23, 2012 I WAS DISTRESSED to read my words misrepresented and applied negatively to the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program on the editorial page: "[W]e can't help thinking that the city is, to riff on a phrase from Councilwoman Blackwell, a little 'muraled-out.' " This is not something I ever said, and I was surprised to read my name in the piece, since I was not contacted to comment and did not speak with the writer. If we had spoken, I would have been able to tell you that I have known Jane Golden and her work since her days with Anti-Graffiti, work that would ultimately lead to the formation of the Mural Arts Program. I have upheld Mural Arts as a model of how an organization can work in communities where people have fallen through the cracks and provide those individuals with dignity, respect and hope. I have seen my district benefit from the work done by Mural Arts, and they are at the top of my list of organizations working effectively to make Philadelphia a better place for all of its citizens. Jannie L. Blackwell City Councilwoman The 54 billboards featuring the photography of Zoe Strauss and promoting her show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are an inspiring public-arts project, and a welcome temporary addition to our city's streetscape. But it's not entirely clear why this welcome new addition should be seen as a contrast to our vital Mural Arts Program. Diversity in public art need not come at the expense of a program that has been at the heart of the city's communityrevitalization and youth-engagement efforts. The Mural Arts Program is effective not just because it makes our neighborhoods more beautiful, but because it directly engages and improves the lives of city residents. The city's murals span
three decades and a vast array of styles. The program employs more than 250 Philadelphia-based artists, and has featured work by photographer JJ Tiziou as well as internationally renowned artists such as Steve Powers, Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn. Additionally, Mural Arts attracts more than 15,000 visitors annually, directly benefiting our creative economy. The Daily News, with its Art Attack coverage, has become one of the leading resources for cultural news in the region. In a city where arts and culture is a distinguishing competitive advantage that is defining us as a world-class city, let's speak up together for our outstanding array. Bravo, Zoe. Bravo, Mural Arts. Tom Kaiden President Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2012/01/12/phila-its-cultural-organizationsto.html?s=print
Phila., its cultural organizations to fund Barnes marketing campaign Peter Van Allen January 12, 2012
The spring opening of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia will be promoted with a $2 million campaign, city and tourism officials said Thursday. The institution, which had been based in Merion, Pa., and houses a world-class collection of Impressionist art, will open on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on May 19. The “With Art Philadelphia” campaign will include advertising, public relations, media partnerships, a new microsite, social media and a series of special events. Founding partners in the venture are the city, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. (GPTMC), the Barnes, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). In addition to the opening of the Barnes, the campaign hopes to “shine a light on what’s already here,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of GPTMC, a nonprofit that promotes the region to potential tourists. Mayor Michael Nutter said the campaign also hopes to link the Barnes with an already strong base of “real” cultural and historical attractions. “It’s not folks running around in manufactured outfits,” he said. “It’s real.” The campaign was unveiled in a conference at the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown and attended by about 150 members of the hospitality industry and arts-and-cultural institutions. The entities paying for the two-year campaign are: the city of Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing, the Barnes, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, PAFA, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Parkway Council Foundation.